Gregory
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Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)
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The National Wildlife Federation certified wildlife habitat sign they sent me, that I posted on the large Red Maple in the front yard in November 2016, works wonders. My front yard has a very modest effort at conforming to the cultural american expectation. The back yard is a jungle. Providing a water source is challenging, though it is not scarce in Ohio. Native wetlands and prairie are rare. There are recreated or created wetlands, a bit of old(er) growth forest, and some old cemeteries.
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How hummingbirds use their wings to create lift on upstrokes as well as downstrokes, and hover or fly backwards wins for me.
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I've read that Rosy-Finches in Colorado exhibit altitudinal migration like some Hummingbirds. It's interesting that some Hummingbirds, like some other birds fly north on a different route then south. They are almost certainly not the only species to do it but I find it really cool that some Ruby-throated Hummingbirds fly over the Gulf of Mexico while others fly around it.
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It's amazing that when they "first wake up" it is 20-30 minutes before they can do anything. How do they avoid predators or other dangers while in torpor or morning catatonic stage?
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Another favorite hummingbird story of mine occurred at the retail store I work at in Ohio. When I came in everyone wanted me to evict the poor hummingbird that nobody else could corral. I went up to the corner it was in on a ladder and held my hand by it. It went right in my hand without fuss. I took it outside and gently laid it on a bush. After a minute it flew off.
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I have been able to see quite a few species traveling. The Broad-tailed Hummingbird is a favorite of mine due to it's "metallic trilling in flight". Another one I saw that I wish I had taken a better look at was at home in Central Ohio on my American Beech tree on Halloween.
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Did you do the section with your voice separetely at -10 decibels from the section with the PIWO at -3 decibels?
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I have a Zoom F3 recorder($349.99) and Sennheiser MKE 600($329.95) external shotgun mike. When you look up "not tech savy" in the dictionary it says see me. I am brand new at this but have figured it out with my Windows 10 computer and Ocenaudio. The mike came with a small shock mount. I did not purchase an $89 plastic bag for it. The headphones are Sony MDR-7506($80.99). I got a Auray 5.5" windshield($84.95), Kopul studio elite 4000 series M to F 3 foot XLR cable($17.99), micro SDHC memory card with SD adapter($9.99). Shipping was free. This all added up to $939.40. One thousand was also my budget. The recorder has belt loops, is small and user friendly enough, and I don't plan to use it in much rain or snow. B&H of NYC was the source. The videochat I had with one of their professionals was very helpful.
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In a perfect world maybe I'd exclude us(humans) from recordings most of the time, but it's not. I think it's best to have some tolerance for other things and people. If you can find a place or time without human sounds, great. I'm just starting but I have a recording with a mild level of people talking in the background. In this case it seemed to me to scarcely take away from the bird vocalizing. The wind did a better job at that. Another recording of mine(taken in the early morning) has no talking but a cacauphany(misspelled) of bird sound crowding the intended focal bird. It was still a good recording.
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Don't despair. If you bird it they will come sooner or later.
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I have seen 14 owls overall. Four were seen in Panama. I have seen all eight available in my adopted home state of Ohio. I also have seen a Great Gray Owl in Alaska, and a Burrowing Owl in California. My favorite Owl observation came in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in February of 2015, my big year(287 species). A fellow(Ron?) from San Antonio(originally Oklahoma) showed me around all day. When he retired for the day I wanted to go around on my own. I did not quit until the issue was forced by darkness. In my last moments birding that day an owl flew right by me and landed in a tree a little above and about ten feet from my head. I think there were some walkway lights lending just enough light to clearly identify this bird as a gray morph Eastern Screech-Owl. This capped a grande day indeed.
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I live in central Ohio where there are no ravens. Crows are common but not quite ubiquitous. Kevin McGowan mentioned in a video for the online crow course that crows(American) like pines and the tallest trees in the area for their nests. While working a fundraiser in a commercial area with less then optimal birding, I birded as I could. Crows were usually around. I observed one land in the top of an Eastern White Pine(Pinus strobus) tree in a bank parking lot across the street. Then it dawned on me. I looked around and saw no other close by trees of size, let alone pines. The foliage is dense so it is hard to make out a nest in there but I highly suspect there is. What is not to love from the crow's perspective? People provide these planted pines for housing, and fast food trash for board. Eastern Redcedar(Juniperus virginiana) is largely the only native conifer in the area. Sure, they could work to find food in natural areas, but why? They are smart. Gregory S. Allen
Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)